The US has partnered with the India and UK led Green Grids Initiative of a global energy grid launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
At a meeting of the Steering Committee of the Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG) earlier this week, US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said the United States is excited to be back in the climate conversation and to partner with the new initiative.
“All the energy humanity uses in a year is equal to the energy that reaches the earth from the sun in a single hour,” said Granholm.
“The GGI-OSOWOG is focusing on the two most important pieces of the puzzle. We at the US Department of Energy are happy to be a partner with GGI-OSOWOG,” she said.
The International Solar Alliance (ISA) under India’s presidency and the UK’s COP26 Presidency had launched GGI-OSOWOG during the World Leaders’ Summit of COP26 on Tuesday. The Steering Committee of GGI-OSOWOG comprises of five members besides India and the UK – the US, Australia and France – and has been set up to deliver the vision of One Sun One World One Grid under which 80 countries have resolved to combine their efforts to create more interconnected grids, endorsing the ‘One Sun Declaration’.
The Indian team includes Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav and chief negotiator Richa Sharma.
Yadav said: “We must return to the sun to save the earth. As the world progresses to achieve new heights economically and socially, solar energy will power the transition.
“The GGI-OSOWOG initiative has sustainable development and climate change mitigation at its core with focus on underserved areas. It will stimulate green investment and create millions of green jobs,” he said.